Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Monday, April 20, 2009

Every two years, Air Mobility Command hosts an airlift rodeo. Rodeo is steeped in Air Force tradition and has a special meaning to The Rock.

Rodeo has evolved over the years and has a rich history beginning almost ten years after the Air Force became its own independent branch. In 1956, Airmen took part in the first ever “Reserve Troop Carrier Rodeo.” By 1962, the Rodeo had garnered such success that the Military Air Transport Service, a predecessor of AMC, held a MATS-wide Rodeo. That combat skills competition was the first airdrop competition for active duty Airmen. 1979 saw the introduction of international allies into the rodeo festivities. Barring a short five-year break during Operation Iraqi Freedom, Rodeo has been a popular, consistent part of the Air Force.

Rodeo was originally designed as a training exercise, but over the years has proven to be so much more. It has been an opportunity to share, assess and improve training techniques and procedures leading to a more efficient fighting force. It increases cooperation from other countries' air forces as well as improving the squadron level dynamic. Rodeo is a prime place for Airmen to demonstrate their skills and justify the months of training and because Rodeo is a competition someone has to win.

There are events for Aerial Port, Aeromedical Evacuation, Aircrew, Fit to Fight, Maintenance, and Security Forces.

“The 19th Airlift Wing is competing for Best C-130 Aircrew, Best Joint Airdrop Inspection Team, Best C-130 Maintenance Team, Best Aerial Port Team, Best Security Forces Team, Best C-130 Team, Best Fit-to-Fight Team, Best Airland Team, Best Airdrop Team and Best Air Mobility Wing,” said Lt. Col. Ken Kopp, 19th AW Rodeo team chief.

In past years, Little Rock has both dominated and been disappointed, but this year looks hopeful.

“Our strengths this year,” Colonel Kopp said, “are a great team of Ops, Maintenance, LRS and SFpersonnel with outstanding support from the wing. We have a solid plan to train and prepare for the events in July, backed by unrivaled support from the Airpower Arkansas folks.”

Behind the scenes is the competition between the 19th AW and the 314th AW. They'll be competing in several events at Rodeo.

“The 314th will demonstrate our excellence in the following categories C-130E/J Airdrop and short field Landing, Joint Airdrop Inspection,” said Lt. Col. Randall Mazzoni, 314th AW Rodeo team chief. “Additionally, we will compete for the best C-130 Aircrew award. C-21s will compete for the best OSA/VIP transportation Award. Our C-130E/J maintainers will compete to be recognized as the Best C-130 Maintenance Team, Best C-130 preflight team, best C-130 postflight team, and the best Maintenance Knucklebuster Team.”

The 314th AW is also hopeful of the outcome at Rodeo this year.

“(Our strengths this year are) the professionalism and expertise of both our aircrew and maintainers,” Colonel Mazzoni said. “The 314 AW has a strong ops-maintenance team, and that will pay dividends throughout the Rodeo competition. As the C-130 Formal Training unit, we have the advantage of having some of the most experienced active-duty personnel assigned here. The combination of real-world contingency operations along with the challenge of training and preparing new C-130 aircrew and maintenance personnel to execute these missions will give us a definite benefit during this competition. Additionally, we enjoy a strong rapport with our local community, and their support to Team Little Rock has greatly aided our preparations.”

The old adage, “It's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game” may be true, but the teams from the 19th AW and the 314th AW will both be playing to win.

“Our Rodeo Team is extremely motivated and professional,” said Colonel Mazzoni. “We have years of experience that will enable us to flex to the demanding Rodeo environment. This rodeo will demonstrate that although our mission is to “Train the world’s best C-130 and C-21 Combat Airlifters to fly, fight and win!,” we are more than capable of demonstrating we are the nation’s premier airlifters.”

“As far as the 314th,” said Colonel Kopp, “on the one hand we're all Team Little Rock and are working closely together to support each other preparing for Rodeo and getting to and from McChord. Once we're there, however, it will be "game on" to see which wing can bring home the iron.”

U.S. Army Air Corps Veteran Capt. Joe Roop was presented with the Distinguished Flying Cross by Col. Greg Otey, 19th Airlift Wing commander, during a ceremony at the Woodland Park World War II Memorial in Hot Springs Village, Ark. April 10.

The Distinguished Flying Cross is awarded for exhibiting heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in aerial flight. Other recipients of the medal include former President George H.W. Bush, Senator John McCain, General of the Air Force (retired) Henry “Hap” Arnold, Retired U.S. Senator and Astronaut John Glenn, Brigadier General (retired) Chuck Yeager, Orville and Wilbur Wright and Amelia Earhart.

Originally from Paint Lick, Kentucky, Captain Roop now joins that elite list for his involvement during several bombing missions during World War II. Captain Roop’s plane, the B-25H, was named the "Lola Mae” after his then girlfriend and now wife Lola. The B-25 was a twin engine medium bomber equipped with 12 machine guns and capable of carrying up to 6,000 pounds of bombs. During Operation Galvanic and Operation Flintlock, B-25s were used to bomb the Gilbert and Marshall Islands, paving the way for the Allied forces invasion – operations that marked the opening of the American drive across the pacific that would eventually end the war. Captain Roop’s bombing of enemy supply facilities, shipping assets, aircrafts and airfields enabled the “island hopping” strategy of capturing and establishing overlapping island bases and air control in the Pacific. By capturing certain key islands until Japan came within range of American bombers, the B-29 Superfortress was able to bomb the Japanese mainland and save millions of lives by avoiding a long drawn out war.

Though Captain Roop claims he is rarely a man of few words, he was left speechless and overwhelmed by the efforts made to honor him.

“It’s just a wonderful, wonderful experience that I never felt that I’d ever have. I’m very honored.”

When Captain Roop was first informed he had received the award, he had a very humble suggestion for how he should receive the award. 19th Airlift Wing executive officer 1st Lt. Adam McGhee was told by Captain Roop to simply put it in the mail and send it to him.

According to Colonel Otey, however, that simply would not do.

“I told Lieutenant McGhee we simply could not do that if there was a way we could present it in person,” he said. “To get to pin a Distinguished Flying Cross on a World War II veteran will always be a highlight of my Air Force career.”

Last weekend while on leave in Frederick, Md., I visited the National Museum of Civil War Medicine. I enjoy learning about Civil War history. I'm fascinated by the soldiers, battles, incredibly fierce fighting, bravery, courage and leadership. I'm also amazed by the many things we learned, such as armored ships, submarines, aerial reconnaissance and improvements in medical treatment.

When you study the Civil War you gain an understanding of our military heritage. You also learn the basis of many of our actions today.

All Civil War recruits were supposed to receive a physical exam, but sometimes the exam was superficial, allowing recruits to enter the Army with disease and physical defects that would affect their performance as a soldier.

New recruits went to large camps to learn to become soldiers, and their first enemy was disease. Many healthy recruits became severely ill due to the large, cramped camps, unsanitary conditions and poor diet. Measles, diarrhea and dysentery devastated regiments.

Nearly 620,000 soldiers died during the Civil War, and two-thirds died of disease, not bullets or bayonets.

When the war began, there was no system to transport wounded soldiers from the front lines to the field hospitals in the rear. In August 1862, Jonathan Letterman, Medical Director of the Army of the Potomac, created an organized system of field ambulances and trained stretcher bearers to evacuate the wounded as quickly as possible. The Letterman Plan remains the basis for present military evacuation systems.

Army surgeons were frequently referred to as butchers due to the large number of amputations they performed. But amputations saved lives, and the surgeons knew it. The massive amount of amputations were the result of severe, untreatable wounds caused by the Minie ball, the number of wounded needing immediate treatment and the often poor condition of the soldiers.

Prior to the Civil War there was no system of hospitals. As the war progressed, with a large number of wounded and sick needing long-term care, a network of general hospitals was created.

Civil War medical treatment is a profound part of our military heritage, and had an impact from the battlefield to the city, and from the 1860's to today.

Have you ever taken the time to think about your life choices and how your steps have brought you where you are today? Can you look back on the sands of time and be proud of what you’ve accomplished, as well as put your face towards the sunshine as you look toward your future? If you’re wearing the uniform or if you’ve ever worn it, I challenge you to do so. Those questions remind me of my past and excite me for the future. As the youngest of 16 children, growing up in a small farm town in North Carolina, with little money, I never dreamed of working in such a dynamic environment. As I progressed through life and early in my military career, I would reflect on some of my past experiences and say, “You can’t make this up.” Maybe you had a similar upbringing and can relate to my story.

If we really think about it, traveling the world, meeting new and interesting people, experiencing cultures that most have only read about is a tremendous lifestyle. Of course, it doesn’t come without paying a price. Many of us must leave family behind because of deployments, take our children from school to school, counsel our Airmen that have chosen a wrong path, and work very long hours. A day can be filled with team members being seriously ill in the hospital, conflicts at home and in the workplace, and tough decisions. We may sometimes feel sorry for ourselves because we promised our children we would take a vacation or simply be at their T-ball game. However, the mission calls and we must put the event off until another day. At that moment, we may shake our heads and in some fashion say, “You can’t make this up.” Nonetheless, we still move on.

Have you ever thought that maybe you are the hope for your family. You’re the one they brag about when you come back to your hometown because you “got out.” I know that doesn’t apply to everyone, but it may apply to more of us than we are sometimes willing to admit. Many of us have or will see many parts of the world to include Europe, Asia, South America, Africa, etc. while others will spend almost their entire career in the good ole’ USA. This is the amazing life we choose – helping people experience what it feels like to vote for the first time, feeding the hungry of another nation, sacrificing so that the next generation can live a better life than us, banding together to achieve a mission that many – if not most – thought was impossible. Maybe you were the one that picked a friend up from the airport after a long deployment and drove him or her to the school to surprise their kids.

At the beginning of the article, I mentioned the past and the future. Our past is meant for us and others to learn from, no matter if we grew up on a farm, the suburbs or in a large city. We all have the opportunity to make a huge impact on the people we serve and the future we’re building lies in the last sentence of the previous paragraph. The pride we feel in those moments, well…“we can’t make this up” either. We are providing that for our country everyday and believe it or not, most Americans are grateful for our service to the nation and to the world.

Sometimes I believe we over think challenges we face daily. Most things aren’t that difficult and if we go to the simplest answer, in most cases we’ll be fine. So I’d like each of us to focus on the basic elements of the process we’re involved in.

Each year in America, more than 13,000 people are killed by drunk drivers. That’s four times the people that were killed on Sept. 11. Yet, if people chose to not drink and drive or to consider others before they drive, we could eliminate these tragedies. Back to basics is all about being the best for our Air Force and nation as possible.

We learned everything we need to be successful in the USAF at basic training. How to wear the uniform, proper customs and courtesies and checklist discipline among other things form the framework of a successful organization. Yet, when these aren’t followed, we end up with people skipping vital steps in daily processes.

It does my heart good to see our Airmen extending the proper customs and courtesies, while taking pride in their dress and appearance. These are signs of a professional force. Back to basics demands that we engage each other as good Wingmen. A good Wingman would never put their teammate in a compromising situation. They understand that we are always on parade and take our Air Force image and reputation seriously.

Another trademark of our focus is that when people violate basic standards, we handle the situation immediately. There is nothing I have stated in this article that is Earth shattering. Yet, basic procedures and processes will ensure that we continue to work, rest and play in a safe and healthy way. So my challenge to each of you is to take the opportunity to focus on those elementary steps that will help us all prosper in the long run.

In heavy aircraft with multiple crew positions, any crew member can call “time out” or “knock it off.” They are encouraged to do it if they identify a situation that might be hazardous, or if they think their opinion isn’t being considered during an emergency. The point of a KIO is for everyone to stop, take a deep breath while making the situation safe to ensure mission success.

I am proud to be the LRAFB commander and I am proud of the mission you accomplish every day, but I have to call Knock It Off! It’s time for everyone at The Rock to assess their part in the situation we’re in. There have been a rash of alcohol related incidents in a very short period of time at The Rock. We are better than this negative behavior, and these incidents have no place in Team Little Rock EXCELLENCE. From the start, the policy has been very clear: no DUIs, there is no excuse for underage drinking, and those of legal drinking age are expected to consume responsibly. It is a simple policy that some are failing to support – I need your help!

It’s time for every leader, supervisor, Wingman, Airman and friend to take a look at what’s going on in your world. Are you at a party where there is under-aged drinking? If so, call knock it off. Are you out with a friend who is being drunk and disorderly? If so, call knock it off. As you head to your vehicle after drinking alcohol with thoughts of driving – DON'T, call knock it off!

Every Airman who must come to my office after being charged with driving under the influence hears one central theme. I equate drinking and driving to driving down the street hanging a loaded gun out the window and pulling the trigger at random. You would never go driving through a neighborhood randomly firing a weapon, knowing that each pull of the trigger might kill or seriously injure another human being. Why, then, would you get behind the wheel while under the influence and drive through that same neighborhood? An impaired driver, like a loaded gun, is a lethal weapon!

How many people in your chain of command are involved in making the Team Little Rock mission happen right this minute? If you answered “all of them,” you may be wrong. If your supervisor, first sergeant, superintendent and commander are spending time disciplining you or a member of your unit over irresponsible alcohol use, they’re not accomplishing the mission. We have warfighters across the globe who are relying on us around the clock to provide them with combat airlift. I believe it would be unconscionable to impact our support to the warfighter simply because of irresponsible consumption of alcohol.

Irresponsible alcohol use is not part of a Combat Airlift warrior's ethos – you are all Combat Airlifters. Therefore, it’s time for each of us to call knock it off. Help me make this situation safe for everyone so we can continue to accomplish the mission we do better than any C-130 base in the world.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

As time goes on, people are becoming more aware of the environmental concerns surrounding them and they are putting forth more effort to come up with solutions for saving the planet.

The Air Force has implemented the Environmental Management System, as required by all federal facilities, to help aid in the mission to support environmental progression and engage local communities.

An Environmental Management System is the framework world-class organizations use to manage their environmental programs. An EMS is a structure of framework used to determine the impact the installation is having on the environment; identify and evaluate environmental risks; organize environmental responsibilities across the installation; evaluate the effectiveness of environmental programs; and refine and continually improve the process and plan for the future.

The Air Force modeled their EMS on the Organization for Standardization 14011 standard. This framework allows the Air Force to fully meet the intent of the executive order, retain the vigor of the internationally proven standard and maintain a certain degree of flexibility to account for unique and militarily significant requirements.

The Little Rock Air Force Base Environmental Policy states that it’s committed to conducting its national security mission in an environmentally responsible manner that will protect human health, natural resources and the environment. In doing so, base personnel will operate in a manner that preserves and protects the environment through pollution prevention, the continual improvement of our operations and complying with regulations while we strive to reduce pollution at the source of generation.

The focus is not on “What does EMS stand for” but the idea that Little Rock AFB cares for the environment. The base has adopted a new acronym, H.E.R.C., which stands for Handle Environmental Resources Carefully. The first step in doing this is remembering the three R’s: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle.

“Practicing and living by the three R's takes the strain off and preserves our natural resources. Recycling and [reusing] reduces the need for landfill expansion which saves greenspace. If we are reducing the amount of energy used, we have lowered the pollutants that enter the atmosphere during the production of energy,” said Mr. Shaw.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency Web site, waste prevention, also known as source reduction, is the practice of designing, manufacturing, purchasing or using materials, such as products and packaging, in ways that reduce the amount of toxicity of trash created.

“When we replace a toxic chemical with a less toxic chemical, it’s back to the supply and demand. We’re showing chemical suppliers that we have an interest in less toxic and greener chemicals and it will encourage them to develop more products to help follow that trend,” said Mr. Shaw.

Reusing items is another way to stop waste at the source because it delays or avoids that item's entry in the waste collection and disposal system, as stated by the EPA website.

“It means using an item for something else, such as taking your Commissary bags back to the Commissary and using them a second time,” he said.

Recycling turns materials that would otherwise become waste into valuable resources, according to the EPA Web site.

“Recycling is basically the recovery of a material for reprocessing into another product,” said Mr. Shaw. “The best example is aluminum cans. It takes less energy to take an aluminum can, recycle it and make a new aluminum can then it does to basically process aluminum ore and recast a can from scratch.”

The way the recycling triangle works is that someone has to make a product out of recycled goods, than somebody has to buy that product and then recycle again to get that raw material back into the loop, he said.

He explained that one of the benefits to the recycling triangle is that materials are being diverted from the landfill. It takes less energy to reprocess materials then it does to process something from a natural resource.

“Landfills are like prisons, nobody wants them in their own backyards, but we have to have them,” he said.

“On average, for the last three to four years, we’ve diverted 40 percent of our total generated waste into the recycling industry rather then it going to the landfill. There have been some months that we’ve recycled as much as 45 to 50 percent of all the waste generated on base,” said Mr. Shaw.

The enlisted force is a diverse group of functionally and operationally specialized Airmen. Despite the natural differences found across functional and operational lines, there is a compelling need for a deliberate and common approach to enlisted force development, career progression and the assumption of increased supervisory and leadership responsibilities. To best leverage our resources, we must have a consistent, well-defined set of expectations, standards and opportunities for growth for all Airmen, regardless of specialty. This is accomplished through the enlisted force structure and force development construct which relies on a common language--the Air Force institutional competencies.

The institutional competencies are the leadership, management and warrior ethos qualities required by all Airmen. They provide a common language and set of priorities, with varying levels of proficiency, based on the Airman’s rank and position. The enlisted force structure and institutional competencies describe what makes us Airmen, not just specialists. We are Airmen first, specialists second.

All elements of force development, the institutional competencies and the enlisted force structure, are grounded in Air Force core values: Integrity First, Service Before Self, and Excellence in All We Do. The core values are the framework within which military activities take place and are the basis for Air Force policies, guidance and focus.

Team Little Rock Airmen are highly encouraged to take the time to read this instruction in its entirety. Our mission focus and our ability to deliver combat air power is inherently dependent on our ability to develop our enlisted force. Remember, Professional Airman…professional mindset.

On Feb. 27, the Chief of Staff of the Air Force along with members of our Air Force Force Development team published the latest version of AFI 36-2618, The Enlisted Force Structure, substantially revising the Dec. 1, 2005 edition. See page 21 for additional coverage on the updates.Changes to AFI 36-2618, 'The Enlisted Force Structure'Chapter 1 –Introduction• Introduces the Air Force force development construct and institutional competencies, and ties them to the enlisted force structure• Spells out our core values (vs abbreviated forms in last edition)Chapter 2 – The Enlisted Force Structure• Renames Airman Tier to “Junior Enlisted Airman” tier• Renames and revises explanations of the three enlisted leadership & development levels:- Tactical to “Tactical Expertise”- Operational to “Operational Competence”- Strategic to “Strategic Vision”Chapter 3 – Junior Enlisted Airman Responsibilities• Detect and correct conduct and behavior that may place themselves or others at risk• Understand and demonstrate institutional competencies required for mission• Should earn a CCAF degree• Attain and maintain excellent physical conditioning and always meet AF fitness standards• Understand, accept, and demonstrate Air Force Core Values, The Airmen's Creed, and AF Symbol• Be knowledge-enabled• Bring no discredit thru use of personal and government information systems• Understand Sexual Assault Response Coordinator’s role and sexual assault reporting requirements• Know and understand Wingman concept• Demonstrate effective followership, supporting leaders' decisions• Develop innovative ways to improve processes• Excessive or irresponsible consumption of alcohol and over-the-counter medications• Depression and post-combat stressChapter 4 – NCO Responsibilities• Detect and correct conduct and behavior that may place themselves or others at risk• Understand and demonstrate institutional competencies required for mission• Should earn a CCAF degree, if not already earned• Attain and maintain excellent physical conditioning and always meet AF fitness standards• Adopt, internalize, and demonstrate the Air Force Core Values and The Airmen's Creed...know and understand AF symbol• Be knowledge-enabled• Bring no discredit thru use of personal and government information systems• Understand Sexual Assault Response Coordinator’s role and sexual assault reporting requirements• Know and understand Wingman concept• Demonstrate effective followership, supporting leaders' decisions• Develop innovative ways to improve processesChapter 5 – SNCO Responsibilities (in addition to all the NCO responsibilities)• Evaluate and assume responsibility for institutional competencies required to accomplish mission• Demonstrate, inspire, and develop in others an internalized understanding of the Air Force Core Values and The Airman’s Creed…know and understand AF Symbol• Promote responsible behaviors within all Airmen...promote peer involvement in detecting and correcting unsafe and irresponsible behaviors• Recognize and reward Airmen who properly employ operational risk management philosophiesChapter 6 – Special SNCO Positions• Explains the CMSAF is the AF career field manager for command chief master sergeants and group superintendents• Explains the CCM is the functional manager for group superintendents and first sergeants• Adds the Commandant title to ALSAttachments• Adds The Airman's Creed (Atch 2)• Adds the Air Force Institutional Competencies (Atch 3)

I am sure you haven’t missed the financial situation the country is in right now. This is a vast problem and Airmen are not exempt from it. If you haven’t already seen firsthand hardships, consider the following situation.

Does anyone still go inside to pay for gas? I recently heard a story that a person had to go into a gas station to prepay before pumping gas. That seemed almost unheard of with all of the plastic in the world today. This person had given in to the lure of card offers. She had made some bad choices and accumulated massive debt. Paying for gas was the beginning of her issues. She dealt with a house being repossessed in addition to difficulty with buying a car and paying day to day bills. Now, she can’t get credit for big purchases and she can’t trust herself to use anything but cash. She ended up in a difficult situation. Her mismanagement of finances and failure to plan had been devastating to her. Frustrations overcame her as credit requests were denied or high interest rates were offered because her credit score had deteriorated.

Many things are based on the credit score. Anything from getting an apartment to buying insurance is determined by that score. The worse the score, the more it will cost you to do the things you want to do. Credit building is a long term process. It is difficult to establish but easy to destroy. Failing to pay debts or late payments quickly erode the rating and make financial management difficult.

Airmen don’t have to go through this experience. Though we aren’t paid a lot of money, we do have the resources to manage what we do get paid. In March, the Department of Defense sponsored the Military Saves campaign. The campaign brought to light the tremendous base and community resources we have to teach money management techniques. I hope everyone had a chance to participate and learn during that week but we aren’t done. Budget planning, credit buying, and money saving courses are constantly available to us and we need to utilize them. Effective planning now will keep you paying at the pump and keep us all focused on the mission.

From time to time I like to single out certain portions of our base population who may be flying under the radar in forms of recognition. This week I’d like to focus on our Security Forces Defenders.

Typically, we take for granted the selfless dedication these folks display in maintaining installation security for all of us daily. This is even more remarkable when you factor in the level of deployments they are required to fulfill around the world. With an installation that stretches over 6,000 acres, our Security Forces demonstrate a tremendous amount of effort to enable Combat Airlift through force protection.

When there is trouble, our Defenders run towards the situation with the training and desire to quickly resolve any threat to our base. Recently our base experienced a rash of thefts, and true to form our Defenders utilized insightful investigative measures to identify and apprehend those involved. When you think of unsung heroes, our Security Forces has to be at the top of your list.

We are blessed to have an all volunteer force that protects our nation and within that force are those who watch over all of us in uniform. Whether coming through the gate during inclement weather or needing someone to help out during a fender bender, our Defenders carry a great attitude everywhere they go.

Capt. Robert Shaw, who is heavily involved in operations for Security Forces, recently talked about the great relationship our base has with local law enforcement agencies. Many cases have been resolved due to the great partnership we have developed with our community partners. One last fact I’d like to add to this story, there is a tradition that when your name is mentioned in the Combat Airlifter that you must provide donuts to your office. So Captain Shaw will have the privilege of providing a time honored snack to our hard working Defenders.